Targeting Dopamine System in Brain Could Treat Alcohol Dependence: Study

Two studies suggest that targeting the dopamine system in the brain could help treat alcohol dependence by reducing cravings, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Dopamine is a brain chemical that creates a feeling of well-being. The findings come from one study of humans and one of rats. In the human study, patients who took an experimental drug believed to stabilize dopamine levels showed a large reduction in alcohol craving. The rat study suggested the drug works by acting on levels of dopamine.

Drinking alcohol causes the brain’s reward system to release more dopamine than usual, triggering a feeling of well-being, the article notes. The more alcohol a person drinks, the more the brain’s reward system is desensitized. This leads to less dopamine being released. Eventually, a person drinks more alcohol just to feel normal.

Both studies appear in European Neuropsychopharmacology. The human study included 56 alcohol-dependent adults, who typically drank the equivalent of a bottle of wine daily. They stopped drinking for at least four days. Half were given the experimental drug and half were given a placebo.

For two weeks, participants were allowed to drink as much as they wanted. On the 15th day, each participant was given a glass of their favorite drink. Those who had taken the experimental drug reported not enjoying their first sip as much as those who got the placebo. After finishing the drink, the experimental drug group reported having lower cravings for alcohol, compared with the placebo group.

Participants who had the poorest impulse control and were at greatest risk of relapse responded best to the drug, the researchers found.

“The results of our studies are promising, but there is still a long way to go before we have a marketable drug,” lead researcher Pia Steensland, PhD of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden noted in a press release.